Barley, other grains and pumpkin butter

Hi, all,
Nice to see all the long-lost posts. Thanks, Michelle. I especially liked
the one about the different kinds of rice. I tend to mix my grains when
cooking - 2 parts brown rice to 1 part wild rice or barley, that kind of
thing. My kids wouldn't try brown rice until I mixed it with white, or wild
rice until I mixed it with brown. Now the older one actually prefers wild
rice to the others and I never buy white anymore - yea! Sounds like my kids
would LOVE that wehani type but it's probably outrageously expensive. Maybe
Trader Joe's will pick it up?
Speaking of Trader Joe's, they make a great, cheap and fatfree pumpkin butter,
which inspired me to try to track down some recipes on the 'net. As with much
American food, Bronwyn, this IS very sweet (we use it as dessert or a decadent
dip for baby carrots) but the advantage to making your own is that you control
the amounts of sugar, etc. that you put in! One is a stovetop recipe and the
other is a microwave recipe. They both state that the butter will keep
several weeks if covered and refrigerated.
Pumpkin Butter
1 (16 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
In a medium saucepan, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, honey, lemon juice,
cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring
frequently. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes, or until thickened, stirring
occasionally. Refrigerate for several weeks or freeze.
Yield: 2 cups.
Spicy Pumpkin Butter
1/4 c. dark brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/2 c. pumpkin
Combine the two sugars, water, and spices in a 4 cup glass measure. Microwave
on HIGH 3 minutes; stir. Add pumpkin and microwave on HIGH 5 minutes. Let cool
and refrigerate. Keeps several weeks in refrigerator or can be frozen.
Yield: 2 cups.
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